Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Forest Mushroom Turnovers won-over the judges taste buds at the Second Annual“Make it with Mushrooms” Student Chef Challenge.

Guelph, December 1, 2008 – After an hour and a half in the kitchen, student chefs from Cambrian College, Fanshawe College and Georgian College await anxiously as the winners of the Student Chef Challenge are announced. “It was extremely close. The presentations were stunning, the flavours were wonderful, and all the dishes showcased mushrooms very well,” notes Brittany Stager, Marketing Manager of Mushrooms Canada. In the end, Cambrian Colleges’ Forest Mushroom Turnover was awarded first place, and the “Make it with Mushrooms Masters” title.

The Cambrian College team, consisting of Jeff Roberts, Jamie Boyle and Samantha Ryan under the direction of their course director Kim Coates, worked hard to prepare their dish in the kitchen at PJ’s Restaurant in the Atrium at the University of Guelph where Chef Simon Day and his staff made sure the teams had all the necessary cooking equipment.

Judging was based on a set of criteria that tested the student chefs’ culinary skills; taste, presentation and originality. Judging also took place inside the kitchen by Sous Chef Renee, who looked for things like cleanliness, organization, professionalism and teamwork.

As the winning team, Cambrian was awarded certificates recognizing their achievement as well as a $1,500 grant for their program and $1,500 for the team. The second place team, Fanshawe College received a certificate, a $1,000 college grant and $1,000 for the team. The third place team, Georgian College also received certificates plus a $500 grant and $500 for the team.

This was the second “Make It With Mushrooms” Student Chef Challenge conducted by Mushrooms Canada. Seven community colleges accepted the challenge back in September, and submitted recipes for selection to compete in the Cook-off. “Seeing this has become an annual event for us I hope that more colleges participate next year,” says Brittany Stager. “It is important that we give students the opportunity to apply what they have learned in school to a real life challenge, and to have fun doing it.”

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About Me

What can I really say about me? My two passions are cooking and baking and anything else to do with the two. I would have to say that one of my favourite foods to work with though is of course The Mushroom. So versatile and easy, mushrooms make a great ingredient in any meal.